Printed from https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/london_cycle_hire_scheme_contrac?utm_campaign=alaveteli-experiments-87&utm_content=sidebar_similar_requests&utm_medium=link&utm_source=whatdotheyknow on February 18, 2018 05:22

Thank you for your request for information dated 13 August 2010 which was
received by Transport for London on 13 August 2010 concerning London
Cycle Hire Scheme Contract. This request will be dealt with under the
terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

We aim to deal with your request promptly and provide you with a response
by 13 September 2010.

In the meantime, if you have any queries or would like to discuss your
request, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Once again, thank you for taking the time to contact us.

Yours sincerely

Patricia Mitchell

Head of Customer Services, Surface Transport

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Thank you for your e-mail received by Transport for London (TfL) on 13
August. You asked for a copy of the Barclays Cycle Hire Scheme contract
between Serco Group plc and TfL.

Your request has been considered under the requirements of the Freedom of
Information (FOI) Act. The information you have requested is exempt from
disclosure under Section 22 of the FOI Act as the information is intended
for future publication.

TfL has a general policy of publishing selected contracts with service
providers in which there may be considerable public interest. We are
currently reviewing the contract with Serco to identify any information
subject to an FOI exemption and anticipate that publication will take
place in mid October 2010.

We recognise that there is some public interest in immediate disclosure of
this contract, given the importance of transparency for public bodies and
public interest in the operation by Serco of the Cycle Hire Scheme, but we
consider that there is a greater public interest in applying the exemption
to enable publication to take place on the timescale already envisaged,
which will enable the project team to maintain focus on the successful
delivery of the Scheme.

If you are not satisfied with this response, please read the attached
help-sheet entitled ‘Your Right to Appeal’.

Yours sincerely

Patricia Mitchell

Head of Customer Services

Transport for London

Surface Transport Customer Services

For further information about TfL’s services please visit
[2]www.tfl.gov.uk/contact

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Thank you for your request for information dated 21/10/10 which was
received by Transport for London on 22/10/10. This request will be dealt
with under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

We aim to deal with your request promptly and provide you with a response
by 19/11/10.

In the meantime, if you have any queries or would like to discuss your
request, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Once again, thank you for taking the time to contact us.

Yours sincerely

Patricia Mitchell

Head of Customer Services, Surface Transport

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I've now had a quick chance to skim through some of the contract. The interesting bits I've spotted:

1. Absolutely ***ALL*** the financial information has been redacted, without explanation.

2. TfL have specified that 100 docking stations are deemed to be "priority 1", and these are not allowed to be full or empty during rush hours (07:00 to 10:00 and 16:00 to 19:00 daily), otherwise financial penalties can kick in. The list of P1 docks has not been provided in the Contract, and the details of how the penalties are calculated has been redacted.

3. It looks like provision for hiring bikes using Oystercards was in an earlier version of the contract. Most references to it have been removed.

4. Other interesting redactions:
- The details of how the financial penalties for poor performance by Serco are calculated (Schedule 5 Service Level Agreement)
- The name of Serco's financial guarantor (Schedule 17)
- The "Service Provider Solution" (Schedule 28) which probably outlines how Serco will actually operate the Cycle Hire Scheme.
- The Schedule on Intellectual Property Rights (Schedule 41)
- The "Exit Strategy" (Schedule 16) which covers the handover of the scheme to a new operator.
- All information about the "Key Subcontractors" (Schedule 26) has been redacted.
- The "Equality Policy" and related "Training Plan" (Schedule 24)
- The Information Security Policy (Schedule 14)

5. Schedule 13 shows what both TfL and Serco have agreed should be kept confidential, most revolve around the financials and Serco's bid. Public sector contract guidelines on the interaction between confidentiality & FOI (http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/l... say that "information that was commercially sensitive during the tendering process may no longer be sensitive once contracts have been signed"

6. The contract anticipates that "portable docking stations" might be needed at some point in the future.

There wasn't an accompanying document outlining what was withheld and the reasons why, and providing the relevant public interest test and prejudice test arguments required by the FOI Act, so it's possible that some further information might be released if a specific FOI request is made.

If anyone spots anything else, or makes a FOI request to TfL for some or all of the redacted material, please let me know via an annotation.